Experienced episode writer and
master of darkness Frank Military wrote himself into his latest episode as a
sick sociopath who’s obsessed with Kensi.
In ‘Raising the Dead’ he plays David Kessler who Kensi originally
arrested in 2008, the case bringing her to the attention of Hetty and into the
Office of Special Projects. Military has
written a number of Kensi-centric episodes, most notably Spoils of War (S5), An
Unlocked Mind (S7), The Silo (S9) and Better Angels (S10), some focusing on her
strengths, others seeking to delve into how men seek power over women.
The cold open sees law enforcement
pursuing two escaped convicts, Kessler and Randy Sinclair, a former CIA operative
who plotted to assassinate the president. Kessler splits from Sinclair and is
caught, a move which seems and is deliberate. Sinclair is a dangerous man and Kessler
tells the Secret Service he will only reveal Sinclair’s location to Kensi.
At the start of the episode Kensi is in a
positive frame of mind. Her previous
reticence about making an offer on a house has been replaced with a mindset
that if they’re going into debt, they may as well make it worthwhile and also
embark on fertility treatment. It is Deeks’ turn to offer words of caution, attempting
to place a limit on how far into debt they should venture. It was good to see
Deeks back in the bull pen, even if it was to just to pack up his belongings.
It also ensured he was in the right place when Kensi was called into Ops to
receive a call on a secure line.
Here on start the mind games. Deeks
is aware that Kessler is obsessed with Kensi (he sent her Christmas cards each
year - reminiscent of Janvier and Callen). Deeks, against protocol but very
much in character, remains on comms via his earwig and also makes his way into ops.
Deeks has killed for a woman in danger, water boarded a cleric to try and
rescue Kensi and of course her passion for her career almost caused him to end
their relationship. In Raising the Dead, he placed Fatima (who is running this
case in Ops) in an awkward position when he refused to leave. Her lack of authority,
and Deeks’ of respect resulted in
Kensi fights her own internal
battles as she faces Kessler. He is a
creepy freak, arrogant and in love with himself. In his cell, Kensi first sees
him topless and doing press ups. His reveals his mission is to hunt Kensi down,
have sex with her and kill her. Despite Kensi’s best efforts, he holds the
power in most of their conversations.
His mind games eat away at her - from Kessler’s deduction that she’s
married to his appraisal of her body shape determining she’s doesn’t have kids;
her micro-expression giving away this source of pain. At one point he says ‘touché’
which of course is Deeks’ ‘thing, and clearly hits a nerve. His personal and
blunt comments reveal Kensi’s poker face and negotiating skills need some work!
Sam and Rountree are in the field to assist
the FBI in tracking Sinclair. They quickly split from the FBI after receiving
patronising and arrogant comments from FBI Agent Rudolph, leading Sam and
Rountree to discuss racism. The triggering comment was Rudolph calling them ‘urban’
and how to interpret this. Does urban mean they’re from LA or does it infer
they’re from the ‘hood? Rountree lets the comments wash over him, choosing not
to react and preferring to be the bigger man.
He didn’t even comment when Rudolph stated that FBI agents have special
tracker training; Rountree of course being former FBI and Sam, a former SEAL. The
message is to move forward and be better than them.
There is very little Nell in this
episode which leaves
The thread running through the
season to date is Deeks’ position at OSP. Earlier scenes show he is reluctant
to leave the team - he still wears his earwig and is finally packing up his personal
belongings. Nell’s only appearance of
the episode is to tell Deeks his position is officially terminated and he’s too
old to attend FLETC and cannot become an NCIS agent. Hetty has tried everything
and it is difficult to see how this scenario will be resolved and he rejoins
the team. For the time being he is essentially restricted to the bar.
This knowledge and the sadness and
confusion generated, signals the start of the case’s conclusion and the unravelling
of Kessler’s fascinating master plan. He
is clever and has connections in
Raising the Dead follows the higher
standards set last week and again feels like a normal episode. The plot runs
smoothly and at a decent pace with the team working three different angles, in
three different locations. This separation is integral to the case and does not
feel forced. The main frustration is how Kessler succeeds in getting inside
Kensi’s head. Whether she admits it or not, Kessler has the power throughout
most of their interactions. He is
suitably creepy and manipulative, perverted and deranged, and his threat to Kensi
should play out later in the season.